Outside Hogwarts Castle, on the snow-covered covered bridge.
McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick, and the other professors all wore snow-white cloaks, hiding behind the piers of the Covered Bridge as they watched their surroundings warily.
These professors, whom the students believed had gone to Hogsmeade for a meeting, were clearly guarding against something.
Along with the professors, some members of the Order of the Phoenix were also hidden here.
There were also more than a hundred outside wizards whom none of the professors knew.
The diminutive Flitwick shared a hiding place with McGonagall behind one of the piers.
His breath misted white as he glanced at the winter sun, which was about to set, and chatted quietly with McGonagall.
"Will those people really launch a surprise attack on Hogwarts?"
McGonagall kept her gaze fixed in one direction, but a flicker of worry passed through her eyes.
"I still oppose this. How could Dumbledore and Shawn use the school as a pawn, making it look vulnerable so those people will seize the opportunity?"
Flitwick nodded, then offered a more understanding view.
"There's a traitor in the school. If we don't prepare in secret, we'll have to do it openly. There's no helping it.
Besides, the school's defenses are already strong enough. I don't know where the Headmaster found all these capable wizards.
Every one of them seems to have enough magical skill to qualify as a professor."
McGonagall's lips remained tightly pressed together.
"Ah, whatever the circumstances, a school should be a place of peace."
Flitwick was a kindhearted man. Hoping to distract McGonagall by changing the subject, he began reflecting on what he had just witnessed from afar.
"Oh, what a shame we couldn't watch the first military parade in magical history up close. Those magnificent formations and the ranks of dragons-the